“STIers Meeting

Industry Professionals”
Task Performance Output

Submitted by:
Maria Christine Bernadette Tumabiene
Gabrielle Icalina
Shenny Faith A. Decinal
Dickross P. Frondoso
Ven Regij G. Taño

Submitted to:
Ms. Joana Grace Javellana
I. INFORMATION ABOUT THE PERSON BEING INTERVIEWED

NAME: JORYLYN DONASCO PARK

COMPANY: BACOLOD TRAVEL AND TOURS

POSITION: GENERAL MANAGER

II. NATURE OF WORK

A. What preparations did you take before applying for this position?

“Well in my case, since I own this business for almost 25 years already. I started building

this business by considering some ways in order to became successful in this field. One of the

factors that I consider is; identify my target market. Would I want to start as a part-time travel

agent who helps book air tickets for a small fee? Alternatively, maybe I set up a small shop at a

commercial arcade to accommodate a wider audience such as business travellers, government

officials, or families? Do i want to expand on cruise travel, hotel bookings and provide all-

around travel advice to inbound tourists who visit a local tourist attraction nearby? Those are

the questions that I consider before making this business possible. Also, capital is the very

important in setting up a business. That’s why I made a capital outlay. Initial investment costs

for a low-key travel agency are between P50,000 to P100,000, which will cover licensing and

paper works, office equipment and space rentals, and utilities. More significant operations such

as a corporation or partnership that requires more staff, larger operating space, and more

clients will have an initial capital investment of at least P500,000.”

B. What are your duties and responsibilities in the company?

“As a travel agency manager, I must be able to offer specialist, professional and

competitive travel products to meet the demands of my travel market, which includes online

bookings and tailor-made trips. I am responsible for running the travel outlet and developing

strategies to hit or exceed our sales targets. I need to manage budgets and maintain statistical

and financial records, sell travel products and tour packages, deliver and exceed other branch

performance and productivity, I also take part in familiarization visits to new destinations, to

gather information on issues and amenities of interest to our consumers, and the most

important part for me is to oversee the smooth, efficient running of this business.”

C. What are the competencies needed to excel in your job?

“For 25 years I still want to excel each and every day. I still want to learn and put it into

practice since change is constant and every day is a progressive day for me. I need a more finely

tuned skill set. Our job is all about people and places they’ve never been before, and being able

to build successful relationships is integral for us. I lead this whole travel agency and I need to

earn the respect of my colleagues.  To do this, I need to know how to effectively deal with other

people. I need to demonstrate my managerial qualities and authority, while maintaining the

ability to play my part as a member of a team. The other one is Communication and motivation

skills. To be an effective leader I must master all forms of communication including written,

verbal and listening skills. As a team manager I am the line of communication of frontline staffs.

I need to establish a trusting relationship with my employees so they may feel comfortable

sharing information with me, and vice versa. To ensure that lines of communication remain
open, I’ll need to make myself readily available and accessible to my employees to discuss any

issues or concerns that arise. Lastly and the most important is Commercial Awareness. An

understanding of the marketplace in which this business operates and what it is that makes a

business successful is very essential. To demonstrate this, I need to show that I am aware of

the business mission and aims, to have an understanding of the job sector that the company

belongs to, knowing about the political and economic issues affecting the business, and

identifying the company's competitors.”

D. What are the perks and benefits of this job?

“There are a lot of benefits that I get by being in this position. I can’t elaborate one by

one but my favourite benefit is getting a percentage discount when I and my family member

decide to travel. I have an IATA number card. This IATA numbers cards are identification

numbers issued by the International Air Transport Association to me granting discounted rates

and special access to deals and promotional materials.”

II. SITUATIONS

A. What are the challenges you face in performing your job?

“The demands of corporate travellers are becoming more challenging day by day, the

travel costs are rising. There is also stiff competition from local travel agencies that provide a

variety of attractive services online for consumers. So, my role is constantly changing and has

become very complex. Competition from Online Travel Agencies can be a major problem. If I

am not acquainted with the current trends. I need to thoroughly study the services provided by

our competitor agencies and come up with comparable travel packages for my employees to

increase the total trip savings for our business. The bottom line has become mandatory for me

to stay abreast of technology developments and trends and need to bridge the gap of

knowledge with corporate travellers. Having the right travel and expense management tools to

tackle the challenges posed can facilitate to deliver more important value to my company.”

B. How do you resolve this issue?

“A very hard question for me. But finding the bridge between spending strategies and

seamless service is a tough challenge, but ones I’m up for, I need a travel platform that gives me

control of my company travel spending, makes business travel easier, and empowers me to

keep my traveling staff safe. We understand how hard it can be. Like other travel agencies, we

faced the same challenges when trying to find a solution to control our travel program. That

included the overwhelming pressure to ensure that saving on travel costs didn't mean

sacrificing the quality of the technology or the service provided to us. Sometimes I am

frustrated by the lack of options, I built a corporate travel platform that not only solves these
problems but is trusted by some of the largest and fastest growing companies across the

globe.”

C. What are the “Must do’s” in coping up with stress?

“Stress is my everyday friend. This is my lifetime partner. Sometimes it affects my

personal life. I cannot deny that most of the time, it affects my work life balance. Feeling

emotional and nervous can all be normal reactions for me. So what I did is I take a break. Even a

few minutes of personal time during a busy workday can be refreshing for me. Similarly, I take

time off when I can, whether it's a two-week vacation or an occasional long weekend. Also I try

to take breaks from thinking about work, such as not checking my email at home in the evening

or choosing times to turn off my cellphone at home. Most especially, I take good care of myself.

I Include physical activity in MY daily routine, and get plenty of sleep and eat a healthy diet.”

IV. Encouragement

1. What advice you can give to students who are pursing the same position as yours?

“Well you will get a job someday and you will experience everything in a work place. You need

to set aside your goals and to prioritize the company first. What I can say is to take one step at a

time. Do not rush things out and be vigilant to your surroundings. Always cope with failure and

learn from your mistakes. Your mistakes will serve as your guidance towards success. It will be

your variety of learnings. Just learn from it. Try to correct it and do not forget about it. Accept

what you have done and do not jump into conclusion that you are a failure. Also, you need to

find your passion. Get experience with what you love. Qualifications will get you to the
interview but experience and passion will get you further. Find a career/job that makes you

excited to leave your bed. Be a Lifelong Learner. Learning how to learn is the most important

thing you will ever learn. Never stop learning. School can teach you many things, but the world

has knowledge that extends beyond classrooms.”

PROOFS/DOCUMENTATION